


The Beautiful Star in His Hands

by HeiroHera



Category: Love 020
Genre: Boys Kissing, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24148717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeiroHera/pseuds/HeiroHera
Summary: A cute, short one-shot featuring our favorite characters from Love 020. Hao Mei and KO get closer.
Relationships: Hao Mei | Mo Zha Ta/KO | Shou Ke Zhai Xing Chen
Kudos: 138





	The Beautiful Star in His Hands

Hao Mei vibrated with excitement as he glanced over at KO. He couldn’t wait to get to the office and rub it in the others’ faces. They’d done it, finally cracked that dastardly piece of code that had held the team up. 

Originally Nao He had said he would finish it himself. But, between preparing for the arrival of his first baby with WeiWei, meeting with investors to offload their latest cybersecurity demo, and spearheading this new initiative – even the great Lord was spread thin. During the last meeting Nao He said he was going to pull KO to partner with him again to get the work done, and Hao Mei felt a pit form in his chest. Not again, he thought. 

So, later that evening, as they prepared to head back to their shared apartment, Hao Mei revealed his idea to KO. The two of them, working 36 hours straight, were sure to succeed and finish the job. In hindsight, it was such a foolish and outrageously ambitious proposal that he was surprised KO agreed to do it. Hao Mei was the last guy to volunteer to go a sleepless night, but he absolutely did not want KO removed from his team again. 

And so, once home, the two loaded up on coffee and snacks, and began their work. It was a learning experience for Hao Mei. He knew KO was a talented and genius-level hacker, and that his programming skills were just slightly above elite level. Yet, with their horrific and unreasonable deadline before them, it was as if KO had transformed into some beatific Buddha. The man was a savant. Hao Mei struggled a few times to keep up with him but overall, they somehow fed off one another to the point where if KO moved a certain way, Hao Mei could already anticipate that he was displeased with a line of code or that he was thinking of something they’d forgotten and was about to remind Hao Mei. Unlike their usual work sessions, this one lacked banter. Instead, it was filled with the spirit of wordless communion. 

As the sun rose that first day KO warned Hao Mei to rest his eyes. But the younger man refused. He felt oddly rejuvenated by the warm golden light that surrounded him and KO as they worked at the little dining table. They worked furiously, stopping only for bathroom breaks, to answer a few random messages from the guys, and for a sumptuous meal KO prepared on the fly when he saw that Hao Mei was turning green from hunger. In the end, they succeeded. 

“You finished this last night?” Xiao Ne asked, scanning the code on his computer. 

“Mm,” was KO’s standard reply. 

“Loasan, we did it! Come on, you can see it’s perfect. It’s done, you don’t need to worry about it. Don’t you think we’ve earned a reward?!” Hao Mei gushed excitedly.

A ghost of a smile played across Nai He’s lips as he glanced up.

“Fine. What reward would you like?” The way he looked at them, it was not clear if he was asking them if they wanted a joint reward or if he was giving them each a reward of their choice. 

It hardly mattered. In his typical childish exuberance, Hao Mei rushed forward. 

“We spent two nights straight working on this. We need sleep! I want 2 days off, paid!”

Both KO and Nao He chuckled at the same time. Hao Mei turned heatedly to KO.

“What?! Is that so crazy? It’s fine for you not to sleep, you’re inhuman. But me, I need my beauty rest!” Hao Mei pouted. 

“Fine,” Nao He said, leaning back in his chair. “Go home, rest, and come back in 2 days. Full pay, I promise.”

“Three days,” KO whispered softly, before Hao Mei could hug Nao He. 

“Huh?” Hao Mei was puzzled, not expecting his friend to say anything. Nao He, however, looked as cool and relaxed as ever.

“Why 3 days KO? Won’t 2 be ok?” he asked, locking eyes with the hacker. Hao Mei internally pouted as the two did their alpha male stare down.

“One day to sleep. One day to replenish strength. One day to…celebrate,” KO rattled off. Hao Mei had to bite his tongue before he said something stupid. KO’s request made sense. More days off, paid, would not necessarily be a bad thing. Knowing himself, Hao Mei could easily sleep away the 2 days. Having another day could prove beneficial, and if KO used the word celebrate, maybe that meant he would cook him a feast! Hao Mei’s mouth began to salivate at the thought.

“Yeah, three days. Three days, please Boss He,” Hao Mei begged, clasping his hands together and pretending he was going to drop to his knees.

He knew enough of Nao He to know that he was not easily moved by…well anything really. But his friend was genuinely smiling and looking at Hao Mei as if he pitied him a little bit.

“Fine,” Nao He nodded magnanimously, his eyes sparkling, and then just like that, turned his attention back to his screen, quietly dismissing the two from his presence. 

Hao Mei dragged KO out of the office and towards the elevator, barely bothering to spare a glance at Ban Shan or Young Gon. Once safely inside the elevator and aware from prying eyes and ears, Hao Mei rounded on KO.

“Three days!?” 

KO glanced at him, a slight smile threatening the corner of his mouth.

“You don’t like it?” he asked, side-eyeing Hao Mei. The other boy shrugged. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy. Three days was good, better than two. And paid. 

“Hey! You said the third day was to celebrate! What did you mean?” Hao Mei asked, remembering the thought that had been bothering him from back in the office. 

KO fixed him with a stare that caused Mei’s breathe to hitch in his throat. This happened sometimes. KO’s eyes would go black and he would have this intensity that both warmed and startled Hao Mei. 

Epilogue

Hao Mei leaned back, locking his hands behind his head and just barely managing to stifle the sigh of satisfaction that played across his lips. Usually he would have jumped up from his chair and dragged the others over to his screen to behold his brilliance. But not this time. This time, he was silent. This particular piece of code had been kicking his ass for the past week, but rather than cave and ask for help from Nai He or even KO, he had buckled down and worked through it. His efforts paid off. 

Nai He would be pleased. 

KO would be impressed. 

And both YungHo and Banshan would have to once again accept his superiority.

Unfortunately, he lacked situational awareness. Even though he wasn’t boasting with delight, the amused light in his eyes and his childish smile had been steadily observed by the man sitting across his workstation from him. When Hao Mei finally realized he was being watched, it was too late to school his face into a more composed expression.

“Why are you smiling?” KO asked.

Hao Mei blushed. “It’s nothing, I was just…thinking.”

“About what?” KO pressed. The slightly older man had such a quiet, composed maturity about him that it reminded Mei of when his father would question him about his school work. 

“Drop it, it’s nothing,” Mei whined. KO raised an eyebrow. It was a slight movement, but it was usually more than anyone would get from the man. It made Hao Mei squirm. The other two members of their work station had left for an early lunch, and it was just KO and Hao Mei in the office. Hao Mei leaned forward conspiratorially, “Can you keep a secret?”

“Mm,” was the trademark reply.

“I just finished a major piece of code. I mean seriously, I’ve just saved the team two weeks’ worth of work, maybe more! Nao He will be very happy. He might even let us get some free time because we’ll be ahead of schedule now.”

It was KO’s turn to lean back in his chair. 

“That is good news. Why the secrecy?” he murmured.

Mei blushed again. “It’s...” he stammered, trying to collect his thoughts under KO’s penetrating gaze. 

“Haven’t you been so proud of something that you just wanted to keep it all to yourself, even if just for a little bit?” Hao Mei asked, locking eyes with KO. Mei had sincerely been referring to his coding prowess but as the seconds ticked by, and KO’s eyes never left his, he felt a warm burning sensation moving up his arms and back and through his stomach. 

KO tilted his head and considered the younger man. In the few years since he’d started working at Zhiyi, he had grown accustomed to all of Hao Mei’s little eccentricities. The man was like a boy in many ways, expressing the slightest childish delight or consternation depending on the situation. His obsessive love for good food, fine alcohol, and beautiful things were just a few of the things that KO found so bewitching about him. Hao Mei was a strange blend – combining the beauty of a guileless woman with the insouciant seductiveness of a precocious youth. It had taken KO aback when he had first beheld Hao Mei’s smile, and it took him aback again seeing the man now. 

“Hao Mei.”

“Hm?” 

“Follow me, I need to show you something.” Hao Mei’s eyes flashed wildly but he obediently stood from his desk and followed KO off the platform and into the men’s bathroom. Hao Mei didn’t look back, even when he heard the telltale click of the door being locked. Instead, he went up to the mirror above the sink and watched KO’s reflection materialize behind him. 

KO stuck his head forward to rest it on Mei’s shoulder, their faces touching, their eyes dancing together in the mirror’s surface. Hao Mei closed his eyes as KO slowly wrapped his arms around his torso. The warm burning sensation from earlier had blossomed into a full-blown inferno. It still caught Hao Mei off guard how receptive his body was to KO, even after these years. One would have thought the novelty would have worn off for the men, so ardent had their courtship been once it had really “begun.” KO’s lips ghosted across his ear, “Will you ask the Boss for a few days off if he likes what you’ve done?”

Hao Mei nodded, lips parting gently at the delicious tickling sensation that sprinted down the side of his neck. He didn’t open his eyes, but he turned his head slowly in the direction of KO’s voice.

In a few moments, he felt a warm pressure against his lips, followed by a more insistent sensation coupled with a warm darting tongue. Hao Mei moaned, turning in KO’s arms to drape his limbs over the taller man’s shoulders. He allowed KO to press him back against the sink as they both fell deeper into the kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Just getting back into creative writing. I adore the TV series Love 020 and was especially impressed by the nuanced flirtation and burgeoning love story between Hao Mei and KO. I wish we could have seen more of them. This is somewhat how I imagine their relationship. Let me know if I should write more.


End file.
